There’s this cozy little cafe that I like to go to for lunch, and one of the employees who works there is this middle-aged Asian man, who I swear must be a samurai.

He looks to be the right age and have the same body type as the stereotypical samurai, and he wears his jeans high up on his waist just like a Japanese martial artist. Just from the way he walks and interacts, I can tell that he is a well-disciplined person, and he has this genuine, complete calmness to him, that only a great master could possess.

My guess is that he came to Thailand after a battle went awry, and his village was in danger from the neighboring ninja clan, so he had to quickly flee to the nearest safe country. Now, he works at the local cafe, disguising himself in civilian clothing, and leaving his whole violent samurai past behind.

And man, does he make a good banana fruit shake.

Hey guys, here’s a quick video tour of my room. Below are some more pictures I took from my deck, since the glare is pretty bad in the video. Enjoy!

Room Tour

I’ve been in Thailand for a little over a month now, and looking back on my trip from the beginning, I must say I find it pretty mind-blowing how much I have experienced already. Just a month ago, I had never really been anywhere on my own, or ever had to fend for myself for a prolonged period of time.

As time passes by, we rarely take the time to stop and think about what is actually happening in our lives. In other words, we rarely live in the moment. We usually just rush to school, speed to work, quickly finish our meals, etc. Before I left for Thailand, I always had this feeling that the whole idea of traveling to the other side of the world would eventually hit me hard, and strike some kind of emotional response within me; like having a word on the tip of your tongue, that, no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to remember. Well, that emotional response that I was waiting for has never come, and at this point, I don’t think it ever will.

I went in to this trip expecting the absolute best and worst from myself. I would take a second to pat myself on the back, but really, there is nothing I’ve done that I would consider too extraordinary. Anyone else could do what I’m doing, it’s just a matter of taking the first step. One Thai baht may only equal about 35 cents, but that definitely doesn’t mean Thailand is a run-down, dirty country to live in. I have found that, even with the language barrier, the people here are much kinder and way more accommodating than people back home, and that is exactly what Asia has that America lacks: an overall respect and appreciation for everyone else around you.

Since keeping face and keeping your temper controlled is such a big deal here, everyone is always respectful, even in bad situations. Just the other day, I came back to my room after eating lunch, and when I tried to unlock the door, the key would not work. It turned out that the lock in the door was broken, and I would have to wait two hours for a maintenance man to come fix it. Was I angry? Annoyed? Disappointed? Of course I was. I must have tried to open that door 20 times before reporting the problem. But did I furiously rush downstairs, point the key in the lady’s face, and yell obscenities at her? The thought went through my head, but no, I didn’t. I just laughed and shook my head for a second, then calmly went downstairs and explained the situation. The lady was extremely apologetic, and assured me she’d get it fixed as soon as possible. If I had exploited the situation, I doubt she would have been as quick with the turn-around.

During the two hours I was locked out of my room, I went around exploring the area some more, and eventually stumbled upon a school… with a full-sized basketball court! I was sure I would never find one anywhere, but lo and behold, there it was, screaming play with me! I was so surprised to see it, that I just stood there staring at it for a couple of seconds. I then made it my immediate goal to play basketball that day, so I asked around the school a little bit, and eventually got a reply of “Oh, basketball! 4:00!” from one of the teachers. I was locked out of my room at 2:00, and the lady said it would be done in two hours… so let’s see… that’s 4:00! Funny how the universe works.

Anyway, when I went back to my guest house at 4:00, my door had already been taken care of, so I was able to make it back to the school by about 4:30. I ended up playing basketball with some local Thai students (they looked to be high school-aged) for a couple hours, and had a great time.

Despite how crappy the world can be sometimes, I still think it works logically. I see it like this: the more you give, the more you get back. The more I smile, the more smiles I get back. The more students I teach, the more gratified I feel. It’s not about getting anything in return; it’s just about giving what you’ve got because, well, what else is there to do in this world?

I hope you’re all enjoying my entries! Expect a steady stream every week. I am working on another project at the moment as well, but I will make an effort to post every day or every other day. Also, I haven’t taken any pictures of Chiang Mai yet, but I plan on taking some very soon, possibly tomorrow. I will try to get some pictures of the school where I played basketball (for some visual references). Cya!

In order to travel alone (especially long distances), you need to be the kind of person who knows how to make the best of your alone time. In my experiences, I haven’t had too much of a problem being alone a lot of the time because I know how to keep myself busy with personal projects, hobbies and activities.

Before I started traveling, and all throughout my life, I have considered myself to be a pretty independent individual. When I was a boy, I would keep myself busy by playing with building blocks and action figures. As an adult, my hobbies have gotten a bit more sophisticated, and now instead of having a battle royale with my Power Rangers, I am creating web sites, flash movies and computer games.

Luckily for me, I’m not very hard to please, and I don’t require much to stay happy, but for others, it may not be so easy. If you can find something you’re really interested in, whether it be Thai boxing or Thai cooking, you may just be able to get by without losing your mind by focusing on the things that make you happy.

When it comes to going out and socializing, it’s in your best interest to approach every situation with an open mind and a gracious smile. It can be tough (even for the most motivated, confident people) to get out of the hotel room and socialize, even if you really want to. If you can set simple goals for yourself like, “Tonight, I will go to a bar that I’ve never been to,” or “Today, I will check out the gym down the street,” it softens up your mind and doesn’t make it seem like so much of a hassle. Whenever you find yourself having thoughts like, “Man, I wish my friends were here,” it’s best to just take a deep breath, open up your guide book, and look for something new to do, rather than drowning in your sorrows all day long.

Hey guys, as you have probably noticed, I have done a good bit of work on the site. I am working hard to get a lot more content on the site as quick as I can. Also, I’ve added a couple more photos from Haad Rin, so make sure to check out the photos page when you get a chance.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s new:

1. Larger overall text size (Easier to read)
2. Advertisements (Yeah, I know, but can you blame me?)
3. Most Popular posts section in the sidebar (In order by most page views)
4. Cool Sites section in the sidebar (Resourceful and personal links, will have paid links later on)
5. Post excerpts are now displayed on the home page (Looks neater)
6. Contact page is active (Email form, yay!)
7. Archive page is active (Woohoo!)
8. About page has some content (Will add more to that soon)
9. RSS link is available in the footer (For you, Jason)
10. Advertising page in the footer (Will become available later on)
11. Plenty of other little changes that you probably won’t notice (Cool!)